Passenger rights: will parents finally sit beside their children on flights for free?
A long-stalled overhaul of EU air passenger rights would guarantee that a young child is seated next to an accompanying parent at no extra charge — ending the fee-splitting practice that separates families on budget flights.
In 30 seconds
- The reform would require airlines to seat a young child next to an accompanying adult at no extra charge, ending fee-based seat splitting.
- It is part of the long-delayed revision of EU Regulation 261/2004 on air passenger rights, not a stand-alone rule.
- EU transport ministers agreed a Council negotiating position in June 2025 after the file had been blocked since a 2013 Commission proposal.
- The measure still requires agreement between the Council and the European Parliament before it becomes binding law.
The reform revises Regulation (EC) 261/2004, the EU law on air passenger rights (compensation and assistance for cancellations, delays and denied boarding). Key entities: the European Commission (proposed the revision), the Council of the EU (agreed a negotiating position in June 2025), the European Parliament (co-legislator), airline lobby Airlines for Europe, consumer group BEUC and its Belgian member Test Achats, and Belgium's enforcement body the SPF Mobilité et Transports. The family-seating measure would require airlines to seat a young child next to an accompanying adult free of charge.
Background
Regulation 261/2004 established EU air passenger rights two decades ago, but attempts to modernise it stalled for years: the Commission proposed a revision in 2013 that member states could not agree on. The deadlock broke only in June 2025, when the Council finally adopted a common position, reopening negotiation on compensation thresholds, refunds and — newly — family seating.
What to do
Until the rule is in force, book directly and early, check fare conditions, and contact the airline in advance about seating young children with a parent. Keep booking confirmations and any seat-fee receipts; complaints in Belgium go to the SPF Mobilité et Transports (mobilit.belgium.be), with support from Test Achats and ECC Belgium for cross-border cases.
The Belgian angle
Belgium's two main passenger airports, Brussels (Zaventem) and Charleroi, handle heavy family holiday traffic on carriers — Brussels Airlines, Ryanair, easyJet, TUI fly — that all use paid seat selection today, so Belgian families are among the direct beneficiaries once the rule applies to EU departures.
EvidenceWell established · 1 primary source + 2 official documents · Background sources: 1Explore evidence →Hide evidence ↑
- Published:
- 7 Jul 2026, 02:00
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 8 Aug 2026
- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 8 Aug 2026
- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 8 Aug 2026
- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 8 Aug 2026
Continue reading
This story was assembled from verified evidence, with its sources and reasoning recorded as it was written.
This briefing was prepared with AI assistance and passed Belgium Impulse source, provenance and publication-quality checks. methodology.